Accountability
Careers
Travel
Support WWF
|
 |
Update
WWF Calls for Full Protection of Polar Bears Under the ESA
WWF applauded the Obama administration and Secretary Salazar for their strong statements today and commitments to date on the need for “…comprehensive energy and climate strategy that curbs climate change and its impacts – including the loss of sea ice.”
Secretary Salazar backed up his words with a significant budget request to directly support polar bear conservation and research, showing that the US is serious about its commitments to the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and resolutions from the recent Meeting of the parties in Tromso, Norway.
However, WWF is disappointed that the Obama administration has decided to retain Bush-era exemptions under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that restrict the full conservation protections for polar bears afforded by the law. WWF supported the decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the ESA and continues to support efforts to rescind the former administrations 4(d) rule.
“This rule undermines the listing decision of polar bears by failing to adequately address habitat loss from global climate change,” said Geoff York, WWF’s polar bear conservation program coordinator. “There still is a lack of adequate measures to meet the conservation standard in section 4(d) and little clarity on how the final interim rule is ‘necessary and advisable’ for the conservation of this species.”
While the full protections afforded by the ESA should be implemented for polar bears, WWF agrees with the current administration that the ESA is ultimately not the proper legal tool for regulating greenhouse gas emissions. A comprehensive national plan, new legislation targeting emissions, and a strong international climate agreement in Copenhagen are required to fully address the threat to polar bears—and the planet—from global climate change.
“Reasonable solutions can be found to balance the strengths of the ESA and provide full protection to listed species such as the polar bear, without undue harm to sustainable human development,” adds York.
Click the globe to explore WWF's work
